i5-12600KF vs i3-3120ME

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Primary details

Comparing Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the rankingnot rated352
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data46.54
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
Seriesno dataIntel Core i5
Power efficiencyno data13.30
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)
Release date1 August 2012 (12 years ago)4 November 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$264

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores2 (Dual-core)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads416
Base clock speed2.4 GHz3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed2.4 GHz4.9 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 4.0
Bus rateno data8 × 16 GT/s
Multiplierno data37
L1 cache64 KB (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)9.5 MB
L3 cache3 MB (shared)20 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size118 mm2215.25 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketIntel BGA1023FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI-+
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesunknown Dual-channelDDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory sizeno data128 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data76.805 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD 4000no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF.

PCIe versionno data5.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanesno data20

Pros & cons summary


Recency 1 August 2012 4 November 2021
Physical cores 2 10
Threads 4 16
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 125 Watt

i3-3120ME has 257.1% lower power consumption.

i5-12600KF, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 years, and 400% more physical cores and 300% more threads.

We couldn't decide between Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that Core i3-3120ME is a notebook processor while Core i5-12600KF is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120ME and Core i5-12600KF, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i3-3120ME
Core i3-3120ME
Intel Core i5-12600KF
Core i5-12600KF

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Community ratings

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3.5 2 votes

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4.4 1777 votes

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Questions & comments

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